'Ronaldo influence diminishing'

Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after a missed chance in the
0-0 draw against Malaga
Cristiano Ronaldo's influence on Real Madrid's overall
play is diminishing, according to Guillem Balague.
The Portuguese forward has scored in one of Real's six La
Liga games this season, albeit a five-goal haul in the win
over Espanyol earlier in September.
He has eight goals overall having scored a hat-trick
against Shakhtar in the Champions League, but failed to
score in his 12 shots on goal as Real drew 0-0 with Malaga
on Saturday.
Karim Benzema has six goals this season, but has earned
Real five points in the process
And Sky Sports' Spanish expert Balague told the La Liga
Weekly Podcast that the 30-year-old's impact on Rafael
Benitez's side is not what it was, and that his peak has
been and gone.
He said: "Everybody knows how hard he's worked to get
where he is. I think he peaked one or two years ago.
"What we are seeing is an extraordinary striker who will
continue scoring goals, especially when he is less anxious
about beating Raul for the goalscoring record at Real
Madrid. And he will be considered an extraordinary No
9.
Rafael Benitez's Real Madrid have 14 points from six
games
"But I feel his influence on the game is diminishing, and
that's why I insist with this idea that he has peaked.
"But he is still someone who will play at an extraordinary
level for a long time."
Ronaldo scored a career-high 61 goals last term, one
better than his 60-goal haul in 2011/12, but Real Madrid
finished last term without a trophy.
Terry Gibson, also speaking on the La Liga Weekly
Podcast, says judging Ronaldo's feelings is difficult, but
one goal will make all the difference for him.
"It's hard to work out how Ronaldo feels. Other players
can go five, eight, 10 games without scoring, and we all
know how they're feeling.
"They become ponderous, slower, think about things too
much. But we've never had this with Ronaldo. He's never
gone that long without scoring.
"Now we're talking about Ronaldo only scoring in one La
Liga game out of six, but you imagine one goal will change
everything for him."